Safe protector



Aug. 27, 1957 J. P. FITZGERALD SAFE PROTECTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 9, 1955 INVENTDR. Qvhn Q fi'izgewald,

Aug. 27, 1957 J. P. FITZGERALD SAFE PROTECTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 9, 1955 United States Patent SAFE PROTECTOR John P. Fitzgerald, Madison, Wis.

Application June 9, 1955, Serial No. 514,161 Claims. 01. 109 34 This invention relates to improvements in protectors for safes and the like.

Protectors of this type consist of breakable tubes filled with tear gas which are secured to the inside safe doors over the tumbler core so that, when a safe breaker drives such core inwardly or pulls such core outwardly to open the lock, the tubes will be broken and the tear gas will disperse throughout the safe and the room, when the safe door is opened, thus preventing burglary of the safes contents. I l i Because of restrictions in shipping regulations and constricted space in modern safes, especially between inner and outer safe doors, there has arisen a problem of arranging and mounting the glass tubes of tear gas so that they may be conveniently shipped and quickly attached to safe doors. Heretofore, it has been possible to avoid breaking the tear gas tube by carefully withdrawing the tumbler core.

This invention solves such problems and also provides a safe protector of such type which can be inexpensively manufactured by mounting the ends of a plurality of scaled vials of tear gas in resilient mounting pads to form a sub-assembly which can be easily handled. This subassembly is mounted in an open face metal base by cementing the pads to the inner surface of its wall or by resiliently fitting stubs on such pads into holes in the end walls of such base. The entire unit is screwed to the back of the safe door and the metal base forms a backing up member against which the vials are broken as above explained.

To prevent removal of the tumbler core without breaking the vials a pair of discs are mounted on opposite sides of the vials and secured by a pin to the curb or tumbler core of the combination. Hence, if the core is pulled out or driven in to free the bolt, the vials will be broken.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a safe protector embodying the present invention, part being broken away and shown in section for sake of illustration;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the safe protector viewed in Fig. 1 with part broken away and shown in section for sake of clarity and illustration;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on a vertical plane normal to the safe door of a modified form of a safe protector embodying the present invention mounted on a safe door and showing in particular the vial breaking discs pinned to the curb or tumbler core;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view in side elevation of the vial breaking discs and mounting pin, with base removed;

2,804,029 Patented Aug. 27, 1957 safe, there will be opening for the escape of tear gas. At each end of the base, there are pads 14 having openings 16 therethrough. These openings accommodate screws or the like for fastening the protector to the safe door. The base 10 may be cast or stamped from sheet metal. In the present exemplification the base is an aluminum casting.

The sub-assembly which is placed in the base consists of :a pair of moulded rubber mountings 18 and a plurality of glass tubes 24. The mountings 18 have formed therein recesses 20 for receiving and gripping the ends of the tubes 24. may be formed with a main body having projections 22 in which is part of the recesses 20. In this embodiment there are four such recesses. The four glass tubes 24 are hermetically sealed and contain tear gas. Each tube has its ends inserted in the recesses 20 of each mounting 18. The diameter of the recesses 20 is such as to frictionally engage the end of the glass tubes 24 and this makes a solid sub-assembly which may be easily stored and handled during other steps of assembly. In order to secure the sub-assembly to the inside of the base 10, there is applieda layer of liquid solder to sides of the mount ings 18 and the sub-assembly isthen pressed into engage: ment with the base 10 while the liquid solder 26 sets.

Considerable manufacturing time is saved by using the rubber mountings and securing them to the metal base plate by the use of liquid solder. The :former use of rubber tape bands on the tubes, over which are placed metal holding bands which are screwed to the metal base, have been eliminated by this protector. Instead of storing and handling each tube separately, they may now be handled as a single unit of two, four or more tubes depending upon the size of the protector. The rubber mountings 18 protect the tubes 24 during such handling and assembly. In addition to this, the rubber mountings 18 project slightly beyond the outer edge of the base 10 so that they act as resilient protectors for the tubes during shipment and during installation.

In the modification shown in Figs. 3 to 5, inclusive, the base 28 has holes 30 into which the projections 22 on the mounting 18 are pressed to hold the solid sub-assembly in the case. The base 28 also :a centrally located hole 32 which accommodates the disc operating pin and nut. In other respects the base 28 is the same as base 10 heretofore described.

This modification includes mechanism for breaking the vials 24 no matter whether the tumbler core is pushed in or withdrawn. To illustrate this embodiment the safe protector is shown secured by screws 34 to the inside of a safe door 36 which includes a combination 38 operated by a dial 40 and a tumbler curb 42. All such parts are shown diagrammatically and the curb 42 is deemed to be connected to the tumbler core of the combination so that movement of one causes movement of the other. Before securing the safe protector to the safe door the inner wall is drilled to provide a hole 44 for the pin and the curb 42 is drilled and tapped as indicated at 46 to receive the threaded end of a disc operating pin 48. The pin 48 has an outer end of reduced diameter which forms a shoulder 50 at the inner end of the hole 44. The pin 48 is then threaded into fixed place on the curb 42 with its outer reduced and threaded end projecting from the inside of the safe door. A first disc 52 is then placed over the reduced end of the pin so that it will be engaged by the shoulder 50 if the pin 48 is driven inwardly and forced against the vials 24. The safe protector with a second disc 54 placed between the vials 24 and the side wall of the base 28 is then placed against the door 36 so that the pin 48 projects between the vials, through the disc 54 and into the hole 32. 'A nut is then threaded on the pin 48 so that if the tumbler core is withdrawn, the pin 48 will In order to conserve rubber, the mounting 3 cause the disc 54 to smash the vials 24 against the wall of the safe. While not necessary, it is desirable to insert a compression spring 58 on the pin 48 between the discs 52 and 54 to prevent rattling of such discs in normal opening and closing of the safe.

I claim:

1. In a safe protector having an open face metal base adapted to be fastened to the inside of a safe door having a tumbler in line with which said 'base is fastened, a sub-assembly comprising a pair of moulded rubber mounts each having a plurality of tube end receiving openings and a plurality of hermetically sealed tubes containing tear gas having their ends frictionally fitted in said openings to form such sub-assembly, said sub-assembly being secured to the inside, of said base by liquid solder adhering to said rubber mounts and said metal base.

2. In a safe protector, a metal base having end walls with spaced holes, a sub-assembly comprising rubber mounts each having a plurality of tube end receiving openings, said mounts each having projections thereon, and a plurality of breakable tubes each having their ends fitted in said openings and carried by said mounts, said projections being seated in said holes to secure said subassembly in said base. 7

3. A safe protector for a safe having a door with a tumbler curb, comprising a breakable vial containing tear gas, means for mounting said vial on the inside of said door over said tumbler curb, a member connected to said tumbler curb for movement therewith, said member projecting from the inside of said door beyond said vial, and pieces extending from said member on opposite sides of said vial and adapted to break said vial upon movement of said member inwardly or outwardly of said door.

4. In a safe protector for a safe having a door with a tumbler curb, said protector including a breakable vial containing tear gas, mounted on the inside of said door over said tumbler curb, a breaker device comprising a rod threadedly connected to said tumbler curb, said rod having a reduced end projecting beyond the inside of said door and beyond said vial and forming a shoulder at its inner end, a disc on said reduced end abutting said shoulder and positioned between said door and said vial, a second disc on said reduced end overlying the side of said vial opposite said first disc, and means for holding said second disc on said rod.

5. A safe protector as claimed in claim 4 in which there is a compression spring between said discs to prevent rattling.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Srygley Sept. 4, 1951 

